No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Capitalization of Power

No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Capitalization of Power
Bichler, Shimshon and Nitzan, Jonathan. (2014). Crime, Law and Social Change. Vol. 61. No. 3, April. pp. 251-271. (Article - Journal; English).

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Abstract or Brief Description

The United States is often hailed as the world's largest 'free market'. But this 'free market' is also the world's largest penal colony. It holds over seven million adults – roughly five per cent of the labour force – in jail, in prison, on parole and on probation. Is this an anomaly, or does the 'free market' require massive state punishment? Why did the correctional population start to rise in the 1980s, together with the onset of neoliberalism? How is this increase related to the upward redistribution of income and the capitalization of power? Can soaring incarceration sustain the unprecedented power of dominant capital, or is there a reversal in the offing? The paper examines these questions by juxtaposing the ‘Rusche thesis’ with the notion of capitalism as a mode of power. The empirical analysis suggests that the Rusche thesis holds under the normal circumstances of ‘business as usual’, but breaks down during periods of systemic crisis. During the systemic crises of the 1930s and the 2000s, unemployment increased sharply, but crime and the severity of punishment, instead of rising, dropped perceptibly.

Language

English

Publication Type

Article - Journal

Keywords

capital as power crime Georg Rusche punishment systemic crisis unemployment United States

Subject

BN Law
BN Civilization & Social Systems
BN Conflict & Violence
BN Methodology
BN Distribution
BN Institutions
BN Resistance
BN Power
BN Region - North America
BN Capital & Accumulation
BN Class
BN Labour
BN Crisis

Depositing User

Jonathan Nitzan

Date Deposited

11 May 2014

Last Modified

08 Apr 2016 15:47

URL:

https://bnarchives.net/id/eprint/391

Available Versions of this Item

• No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Limits to Power (Transcript and Video). (deposited 10 Jan 2013)
  • No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Limits to Power. (deposited 16 Jan 2019 22:33)
  • No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Capitalization of Power. (deposited 11 May 2014) [Currently Displayed]
  • No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Limits to Power (Reprint). (deposited 23 Nov 2012)
    • No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Limits to Power (Reprint). (deposited 03 Dec 2012)

Commentary/Response Threads

• Bichler, Shimshon and Nitzan, Jonathan No Way Out: Crime, Punishment and the Capitalization of Power. (deposited 11 May 2014) [Currently Displayed]
  • Bichler, Shimshon and Nitzan, Jonathan No Way Out. (deposited 10 Sep 2021 23:08)

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